SARASOTA, Fla. - One was drafted by the Orioles in 2009 as a shortstop. The other was originally a Texas Ranger, selected in round six of 2008. He found his way to three other teams before the Orioles acquired him from the Yankees before the 2017 season. Right-hander Mychal Givens, once the Orioles converted him to the mound, made the majors pretty fast. He's thrown only 159 minor league innings and went from Double-A to the big leagues in 2015. Lefty Richard Bleier pitched in Double-A for...

TAMPA, Fla. - Joe Ross could be forgiven if he was feeling a bit antsy before taking the mound at Steinbrenner Field this afternoon for his long-awaited spring debut. He thought he was going to pitch last weekend in West Palm Beach, and even warmed up to relieve Max Scherzer in the Grapefruit League opener, but watched the heavens open up and force the cancellation of the game. That led to an extra four days' wait before his turn came up again this afternoon. But in order to pitch today, Ross...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Above all else, right-hander Asher Wojciechowski passed the health test today as he threw two innings against the Atlanta Braves at Ed Smith Stadium. He showed the blister on his right middle finger is indeed no longer an issue. He said that is important because just about every pitch he throws comes off that finger. "None at all," he said when asked if there were any problems. "I've dealt with that before in my career. Nothing new. Fingers held up good. We've been doing...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Bruce Zimmermann used to dream about slipping on an Orioles uniform while growing up in Baltimore. The fantasy didn't include a first-pitch home run, but it's spring training and wouldn't kill the moment. Zimmermann replaced starter Asher Wojciechowski today in the top of the third inning on an overcast and windy day at Ed Smith Stadium. Bryce Ball, sitting at the bottom of the Braves' lineup, greeted him with a shot to deep left-center field. Baseball can be heart-warming...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Minor league left-hander Alex Wells hasn't been cleared to pitch this spring due to a sore right oblique muscle, according to manager Brandon Hyde. There's no timetable for getting him on the mound. Wells is a non-roster invitee to camp who's likely to begin the 2020 season at Triple-A Norfolk. He posted a 2.95 ERA and 1.07 WHIP last summer in 24 starts with Double-A Bowie. "We're just being cautious with him," Hyde said. Kohl Stewart and Brady Rodgers, who are recovering...

TAMPA, Fla. - Davey Martinez has been talking about it much of the winter and through the first two weeks of the spring. Today the Nationals manager will finally see his unconventional lineup idea in action: Trea Turner is batting third against the Yankees. It's not a perfect way to evaluate this lineup wrinkle, because only three players guaranteed to be in the opening day lineup (Turner, Victor Robles, Starlin Castro) made the 3 1/2-hour trip from West Palm Beach for today's exhibition...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles' versatile infielder and outfielder Stevie Wilkerson was designated for assignment last March 23 when the club added catcher Pedro Severino via waivers. But in this case the DFA was not very damaging for his career. Less than a month later - on April 22 - Wilkerson was called up from the minors and added back to the major league roster. He didn't know it then, but after playing 16 games for Triple-A Norfolk, he would go on to play 117 for the 2019 Orioles. He...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The major league education of Adley Rutschman involves more than his at-bats and reps behind the plate. One of baseball's top prospects, the first overall selection in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, has to take some teasing when he isn't behind the dish. (Dish it out, take it. That's where I was going.) As a small cluster of media members waited this morning to speak with Rutschman at his locker, a veteran teammate asked whether he got a hit yesterday. Someone else...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are sitting a few of their regulars today for a home game against the Braves, the bench crew including first baseman Chris Davis, shortstop José Iglesias and outfielders Austin Hays, Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander. Ryan McKenna is patrolling center field, with Dwight Smith Jr. in left and Dilson Herrera in right. Herrera played first base yesterday. Andrew Velazquez is making his first start at shortstop. Stevie Wilkerson has been used in center field, but...

JUPITER, Fla. - It was a home run off a minor league reliever on Feb. 25. It's not going to make Juan Soto any money or help the Nationals win any games that actually matter. And yet it was impossible to watch Soto's blast off Cardinals right-hander Seth Elledge during Tuesday's 9-6 exhibition win and not react with the same astonishment and approval that accompanies any gargantuan blast by the 21-year-old star slugger. Soto's homer, the first by a Nationals batter so far this spring, came...